A motion to ban people from taking copies of the Sun newspaper into buildings owned by a Welsh council is being checked by lawyers before being put to councillors in September.

Flintshire County Council deputy leader Bernie Attridge put forward the motion in solidarity with victims of the Hillsborough Stadium tragedy, who were falsely accused by the paper of being responsible for the events in which 96 people died and 766 were injured.

The original draft of the motion, to be discussed at a meeting in September, calls on the authority not to allow any person to bring the Sun newspaper into any of the council’s premises, and not to allow the paper on any Flintshire County Council premises

It also says that Sun journalists should be banned from the council’s whole estate and that no council advertisements should be placed in the Sun.

Finally, the motion encourages the authority to support the ‘Total Eclipse of the S*n’ campaign in any reasonable way possible.

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The draft motion has attracted the anger of Welsh Conservatives, whose shadow local government secretary Janet Finch-Saunders said: “This is a childish and typically spiteful move from a Labour Party which no longer cares for the fundamental principle of free speech, and which no longer backs a free press.

“It’s an attempt at full-on state censorship of the media, and another bizarre turn from a left wing which no longer has the courage to debate its opponents.

“It’s also illegal and, if passed, could leave taxpayers open to legal proceedings in future.

“While we might not like certain newspapers – and might question the impartiality of other platforms – we have a right not to consume their output. But we shouldn’t have a right to ban them.

“This is how dictatorships start, and Jeremy Corbyn should know a thing or two about them.”

Bernie Attridge

Mr Attridge said: “Our motivation in pursuing this is to show solidarity with the victims of Hillborough, who were treated shockingly by the police and by the Sun.

“The draft motion is one that has been submitted by the Total Eclipse of the Sxn campaign to a number of councils. Obviously I’m not a lawyer, and the wording will have to be approved before being put to the council.”

Gareth Owens, the council’s chief officer for governance, said “A notice of motion has been prepared by councillors Bernie Attridge and Kevin Hughes reflecting the strong feelings elicited as a result of the Sun’s reporting of the Hillsborough tragedy.

“As with all notices of motion, it is currently being considered against the council’s procedure rules to ensure its legality.

“The decision to place the motion on the agenda for the council meeting on September 27 will not be made until this process is complete, although it is the council’s intention to act in solidarity with a number of other councils in the interests of social justice.”